In Minecraft, it's useful to know which way is north in order to determine how to manipulate mine cart tracks. Usually, people keep track of which way is north by placing torches on the northern walls of their mine shafts. How can you initially determine which direction you are facing? (Above ground)

10 Answers
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Above ground, you can use the sun or moon to orient yourself. They both rise in the east and set in the west. Also, according to an answer here, you can punch the ground, and the pattern of cracks will always be oriented the same way relative to north.

Finally, there are third-party mapper programs that you can use to orient yourself (although I haven't used any and can't vouch for them). Some players might consider this cheating, or at least unsporting.

In versions prior to beta 1.9.4 (and the XBox version), the Sun rises at the "top of the map". So either you are holding the map with North on the left (unconventional), or the Sun actually rises in the North and sets in the South! minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Day-Night_Cycle
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BradCJun 13 '12 at 19:54

+1, due to the availability of cobblestone, this is a much better answer than most of the others. It's what I use.
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zzzzBovMay 24 '11 at 22:44

I think this is the best method of determining north. It works when you can't see the sun, only requires common materials, and works even in the nether.
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Jonathan DrainMay 25 '11 at 4:56

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1.8 update: Jeb has announced a new texture for cobblestone, which means the 'L' method will no longer work. No change has been announced for the netherrack texture, though, so this method may still work with netherrack.
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Jonathan DrainJun 30 '11 at 19:15

The new cobblestone texture has appeared in 1.7, and it still has an 'L', although the 'L' is now in the top right of the block.
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Jonathan DrainJul 1 '11 at 23:08

A great trick is to use redstone ore. When you place down the redstone, there is a cross shape on the block. On two of the 4 arms, there are rectangle shapes. When you orient yourself so that one of the rectangles is to the left and one is in the front, you're facing north.

The current answers are excellent. You could also try Zan's Minimap Mod, which works in both SSP and SMP. However, since Minecraft 1.6 is releasing this week, and one of the new features is going to be a map, this mod may become obsolete very soon.

You can also set waypoints with it.

EDIT:
Since the maps of Minecraft 1.6 are virtually useless, I've just installed the new update for this mod, which now displays coloured wool as the appropriate colour, and as a bonus, no longer requires Modloader to install. I'll also include a video of the mod in action.

Handheld maps, mind. If people aren't able to read the maps (and thus orient themselves) mods like this will still be better, and will probably remain simpler to use to boot.
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Raven Dreamer♦May 25 '11 at 0:20

Orienting yourself using T-intersections

You need 4 track pieces.

The T-intersections also try to follow the south-west rule when they are laid out on the ground. If they are unpowered (no button or redstone powering the T), the curve will try to point to south-west. So, if you lay out two T-intersections, you can orient yourself.

I don't see how the recipe for a compass is a spoiler.
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StrixVaria♦Nov 9 '10 at 22:10

There's a player on a multiplayer server I'm on that wants to discover all the recipes himself without being told or looking them up. To him, it would be a spoiler! So I like to error on the side of caution. :)
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patrickgamerNov 11 '10 at 16:15

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But the compass don't point north. Instead, it points to your spawn. If you have a mine under your spawn, it will confuse you more than help.
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Denilson SáNov 12 '10 at 11:15

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he is finding what direction he is facing, not towards his spawn point.
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user8949May 25 '11 at 9:34